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The Reading Lounge

I'm reading "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow.

I'm a big fan of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. This book is written from a different paradigm and is very interesting if you enjoy exploring how our species came to be what we are today.
 
I have probably read this before, but I'll do so again anyway. Scanning a review, I can already see that I will disagree with some of his recommendations. For example, snowballing. It just doesn't make financial sense but that's the analytical side of my brain.
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All done. It turns out that I had read this book before and I think my views on it are the same now as then. That is, it will help you the most if you are a financial mess and don't know where to begin.
 
At long last, I finished Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series with, The Dark Tower. Anyone picking the whole series apart will find a host of flaws, and I have more than my share of criticisms. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story, and credit King for ending it the only way he could, staying true to a mantra about Ka that was there all along. I saw the ending coming but still couldn’t put it away (I did the entire series on audio, which I think serves epics well).
 
I'm currently reading Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson, a locked room murder mystery set on space ship. It has shades of 2001 and Agatha Christie. Having read several hybrid fantasy/horror/occult-mystery blends over the years (Jim Butcher's and Ben Aaronovitch's series come to mind), I find them to be a nice change of pace. Thompson's book is very readable and if you're a sci fi fan or just used to reading the genre, you won't find the language jarring. I'm about halfway through and haven't figured it out.
 
Almost done with this book and highly recommend it. It's a well formulated argument for why we need cattle and more importantly, why we need better raised cattle. Discusses topics like regenerative agriculture, beef nutrition, ethics, climate change, and other stuff. If you want to skip the book, there is a companion documentary that you can get on Amazon Prime Video and is narrated by Nick Offerman who plays Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation.

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Let's see if this book offers and additional insights. Heck, I'll even settle for simple "confirmation" at this point. It's getting harder and harder to find worthwhile investing/finance boots to read.
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And yes, most boots ARE hard to read. Especially the writing on the insides after wearing them for a while. 🤓
 
woodpusher said:
Let's see if this book offers and additional insights. Heck, I'll even settle for simple "confirmation" at this point. It's getting harder and harder to find worthwhile investing/finance books to read.
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Okay, I have to say that I am MORE than happy with this book. The first 30-40% of it is simply talking about the non-technical things regarding investing: Equities-vs-Bonds, personal risk tolerances, investment timelines, etc... While the conclusion of the book is a simple reminder that the best plan is the ones you follow.

About the only thing that I didn't see discussed was explaining the difference between investing and speculation. Many folks don't understand the difference, but they are worlds apart. Even if you have absolutely no interest in ETFs, this book is well worth the read. I finished it in about two days; it's approx 200p)

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (whether you are a noobie investor or a seasoned DIY-pro).
 
woodpusher said:
All done. It turns out that I had read this book before and I think my views on it are the same now as then. That is, it will help you the most if you are a financial mess and don't know where to begin.
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This book completely changed our lives and put us on the right track to build wealth, give, and teach our son. It also created a stronger bond between my spouse and I. There are some funny things in it, specifically NEVER EVER USING CREDIT CARDS EVER AGAIN. Though, the overall message to me is a positive that the person in debt can really become debt free. I don't know how many of this book I've given away to friends, family, and co-workers.

Some of his other books are great reads, such as Everyday Millionaires was a good read.

Thanks Sam
 
Excellent, Matt! Yes, one of the book's main messages is personal affirmation almost to the point of cheerleading. If you're lost and facing what seems to be insurmountable financial issues, this book will probably being one of the first to read to help start you on the right road to recovery. For me, I didn't get much out of it at all .... but I don't think that I am part of the target audience.
 
woodpusher said:
Excellent, Matt! Yes, one of the book's main message is personal affirmation almost to the point of cheerleading. If you're lost and facing what seems to be insurmountable financial issues, this book will probably being one of the first to read to help start you on the right road to recovery. For me, I didn't get much out of it at all .... but I don't think that I am part of the target audience.
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Gosh man, I definitely was about 7-8 years ago! Remember at the old site I was on sabbatical for like 2-3 years because we had to get our ducks in a row. I'm so thankful we read it and Killed $80K in student loan, car, credit card, and personal loan debt! We live a completely different life now.

Retire inspired is another of his great books, we liked it too!

Yes, Dave Ramsey's group can come off almost cult like, but his process works. It may not be the fastest, but it is a wonderful way to start if you have NO IDEA what your are doing.
 
I'm reading Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven right now, and thoroughly enjoying it. They did an HBO or Netflix series based on it, and I'll probably watch it at some point, but I highly recommend reading the book. Fair warning, it's about a pandemic, but a far more dire one than what we're living through, and the focus is about the 'before' and 'after' with respect to a small group of characters.
 
Another investment book ....... of course!

This one is supposed to be a good introduction to investing without a lat of industry jargon. Basically, my understanding is that it will advocate for developing saving habits early in your young adult life using low-fee ETFs in self-directed accounts. If so, this has been what I tried to do for the past 35+ years: I started with blue-chip stocks, moving to mutual funds, then lower cost index funds, and finally low cost index ETFs (<0.07 MER).

If the book is any good, I will pick up a copy for my niece who will turn 19 this year.
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